Groepsportret (klassefoto) van klas V B van de HBS voor meisjes aan de Keizersgracht te Amsterdam 1905 - 1907

Here, we have a class photograph of V B from the HBS for girls on the Keizersgracht in Amsterdam, taken by Friedrich Carel Hisgen. The photograph uses a very narrow range of tones, an almost monochromatic palette. Like a painter, Hisgen seems to be using this to focus our attention on the structure of the piece. I'm drawn to the way the light falls across the faces, lending a sculptural quality to their features. I find myself wondering what it would have been like to sit for this picture, to be a young woman in Amsterdam at this time. Were they excited, bored, self-conscious? The slight variations in expression suggest a range of emotions, each face a world unto itself. The placement of the figures in the photograph creates a sense of depth. Look at the way some figures are placed slightly behind others. It reminds me a little of the early portrait photography of Julia Margaret Cameron. I think both photographers invite us to consider the relationship between photography and painting, and how both forms can capture something about the human condition.